0805 神令人困惑的呼召
「…先知所寫的一切事，都要成就在人子身上。」…這些事門徒一樣也不懂…《路加福音 18:31, 34》
神呼召耶穌基督到似乎是絕對的災難境地，而耶穌基督呼召祂的門徒目睹祂被處死，帶領他們每個人到心碎之地。除了神的角度之外，從任何角度來看，祂的一生都是絕對的失敗。但在人的角度看似失敗，從神的角度看卻是勝利，因為神的目的與人的目的從來不會一樣。
神這種令人困惑的呼召也進入了我們的生活。神的呼召永遠無法被絕對地理解或從外在解釋；這是一種只能被我們真正內在本性所感知和理解的呼召。神的呼召就像大海的呼喚一樣——除了那個裡面擁有大海本質的人之外，沒有人能聽見。神呼召我們的，是無法明確說明的，因為祂的呼召只是要我們成為祂的朋友，以完成祂自己的目的。我們真正的考驗在於真正相信神知道祂的慾望是什麼。發生的事情並不是偶然發生的——它們完全是按照神的旨意發生的；神至高無上地實現祂自己的目的。
如果我們與神相交併合一，且認識到祂正在帶我們進入祂的目的，那麼我們就不會再努力找出祂的目的是什麼。當我們在基督徒生活中成長時，這對我們來說變得更簡單，因為我們不再傾向於說：「我想知道為什麼神允許這或那？」我們開始看到生命中每件事的背後都有神令人信服的目的，並且神正在神聖地塑造我們與這個目的合一。基督徒是相信神的知識和智慧的人，而不是相信自己能力的人。如果我們有自己的目的，就會破壞神兒女應有的單純和平靜、輕鬆的步伐。
來自章伯斯的智慧
真誠意味着外表和實際完全一致。《登山寶訓研究》
0805 The Bewildering Call of God
“…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be ccomplished.”…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L